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Wisconsin, where he purchased the plane, to central Kentucky. Shortly into his training, Lawson learned that flying the 310 was quite different from the Arrow he had flown for several years prior. The power and speed were the most the most exciting aspects to learn.
“Right away, I knew that I was hooked. My other two aircraft wouldn’t put you back in the seat [when taking off]. That 310 lets you know there is some power there,” Lawson explained.
“Insurance required that I fly fifteen hours dual in the aircraft. I completed this requirement quickly, in a week or so, but I didn’t simply want to meet the minimum pro- ficiency. I wanted to be good. If you don’t know what to do in a high-performance twin and something goes wrong, it will kill you. Shortly after purchasing this plane, we aspired to fly to The Bahamas. But I wanted to know my airplane [before taking long trips]. I completed an owner- assisted annual and did other things to become acquainted with it, such as reading the POH as thoroughly as possible. Then I just started flying it. That was the ticket; I would fly it with my CFI, skilled friends who are also pilots, and by myself. I wanted to be good in this aircraft, know its systems and intricacies – so that if something did go bad or I needed something to perform as I needed it to, I had the needed proficiency.”
More than half of Lawson’s logged flight time is in the 44-year-old twin, which he flies roughly 100 to 125 hours per year. He’s also learned some lessons along the way – lessons he’s happy to share with others.
“The hardest thing about stepping up to a twin, even from a retractable plane, was how to slow the plane down! You are transitioning roughly from 200 knots to an ap- proach speed of 120-ish. You must do that relatively quickly if you are in a busy terminal environment. The one thing that I missed in my POH is that I could extend the first notch of flaps at about 158 knots. I expected it at my gear speed, which is 139. And getting that thing to slow down that much is a challenging task. You can go back to idle, and it will take you twenty miles to get that slow, and I had done that forever until I realized the flap extension speed.”
Lawson continued, “I was ignorant in my overall as- sessment of the cost of ownership. I bought the aircraft during Covid when fuel prices were low. I thought filling up for $2.76 a gallon was great. We could fly wherever, whenever, at that fuel price. Now, prices are almost three times that amount, so operating costs were something that I underestimated slightly. At max performance, the fuel burn is about 16 gallons per hour per side. Thirty- two gallons per hour is thirsty, but when flying at 8,000 to 12,000 feet, I’ll get a speed of around 190 knots, true. You can cover some distance at that speed; you will see endurance of four hours and some change, plus your re- serves. I can be in Miami without stopping for fuel, and I have done that mission before. The Cessna 310 is an amazing aircraft.”
You can find Lawson’s adventures on the YouTube channel @TheFirePilot.
November 2023 / TWIN & TURBINE • 23